Fishing reports
16592 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Maine Stripers Surge South as Gulf of Maine Cod Reopens
Cod fishing returned to the Gulf of Maine on September 1 after being closed for all of 2026, with a one-fish limit at a 23-inch minimum, per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME. The same report calls striper fishing in Maine "insane" right now, with bass beginning to push south in waves as the fall migration gets underway — good news for anglers working the coast from Maine down through Massachusetts. No buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so pack a way to check water temp yourself before running offshore. Elsewhere in New England waters, On The Water reports a 529-pound swordfish caught off Maine that set a new state record, a reminder of what's cruising the deeper canyons this time of year. Bluefish should also be active inshore as summer turns to fall, typical for this stretch of the season. Check current state regs before harvesting cod given the tight limit.
Striped bass still running strong through Cape Cod Bay
Striper fishing in Cape Cod Bay is running hot right now: Capt. Rich Antonio of Black Rose Fishing Charters, reporting via The Fisherman — Cape Cod & Islands, calls the bass bite "excellent" for larger specimens this week. Shore anglers from the Fishing Ledge area up toward Provincetown are also connecting, per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME, though the ocean-beach bite there remains mostly a bait-triggered pattern. In the same Cape Cod & Islands report, Sports Port notes bay-side black sea bass and scup running legal-size and plentiful, while bluefish and green bonito work the surface over in Buzzards Bay. Not everything has switched on yet — Goose Hummock Shop's Falmouth-to-Harwich run turned up bonito and small blues but no false albacore, and juvenile great whites have been shadowing hooked stripers in a few spots. No buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so lean on these local reports and check a fresh forecast before you launch.
Buzzards Bay Blues and Bonito Fire Up as Stripers Hold in the Canal
Buzzards Bay is lit up with topwater blues and bonito this week, per Sports Port in the Cape Cod tackle-shop network, while anglers working the Cape Cod Canal are scoring schoolie stripers on topwater and metal lures. Black Rose Fishing Charters reports striper fishing in Cape Cod Bay has been excellent for larger specimens, alongside strong sea bass and fluke action of legal size. Around Scorton Creek and nearby waters, stripers are running larger than the slot limit, and kingfish have shown up along the Nantucket Sound shoreline from Bass River to Craigville Beach. At Goose Hummock, the Falmouth-to-Harwich run turned up bonito and small blues instead of albies, and sharks — including juvenile great whites — have been shadowing hooked stripers in some spots. Big scup are filling out bay-side coolers. Local buoy readings weren't available this cycle, so lean on the bite reports above and check tides before heading out.
King salmon show up strong on West Michigan piers ahead of Labor Day
Anglers working the Lake Michigan piers at Ludington landed a 21-pound king salmon this week, with coho and pin-hook salmon rounding out a wild, storm-tossed morning bite, per reports on Michigan Sportsman Forum. Farther south, a St. Joseph angler pushed out to 110 feet before settling into 70 feet, marking solid bait and salmon activity despite building chop that had boats pounding on the ride out — also per Michigan Sportsman Forum. Perch fishing was tougher to call: one westside-bay trip managed just six fish trolling spoons and flickers behind dipsy divers in 12-16 feet, a sign the perch bite hasn't fully switched on. The MI DNR's September 2 Weekly Fishing Report flags Labor Day weekend activity statewide, including free tours at the Black River sturgeon hatchery near Onaway on September 5. Walleye remains a strong statewide draw, now the most-harvested species in Michigan's Great Lakes waters this season per the DNR.
Eastern Shore Anglers Watch the Early Fall Turn at Chincoteague
Chincoteague's back bays and inlets are heading into the early-September turn that typically opens Virginia's Eastern Shore fall run, and it's worth being upfront that no buoy or gauge readings and no region-specific angler reports came through in today's intel feeds — this outlook leans on typical seasonal patterns for the barrier-island stretch rather than fresh testimony, so treat the species calls below as general guidance until local reports firm up. Historically, this is the window when speckled trout start working onto marsh-edge structure, summer flounder still hold tight to channel edges and inlet drop-offs before their fall exit offshore, and the well-known Eastern Shore bull red run begins building around the barrier islands. Spanish mackerel typically linger near the inlets into early fall before sliding south. Striped bass remain a non-factor here until the region's fall migration arrives later in autumn. The Last Quarter moon this week means modest tidal swings — steady water movement without the strongest pushes of the cycle.
Fall Chinook Chatter Builds on the Columbia as Puget Sound Rivers Wait on Coho
Solo trollers working the lower Columbia near Buoy 10 report hot Chinook action just north of the legal boundary, per chatter on the IFish.net forums — a promising sign, though it's a single unconfirmed post rather than a shop- or agency-verified bite, and no buoy or gauge readings came through today to back it with hard numbers. WA WDFW Fishing Reports continues its statewide creel and catch monitoring at access sites, the standard way conditions like this eventually get confirmed. On the Olympic Peninsula, an angler on The Fly Fishing Forum is lining up a guided Hoh River float this month, a sign river trips are still very much in swing. Early September sits right at the seasonal hinge for Columbia and Puget Sound river systems: fall Chinook runs are building, Coho are still mostly staging before their bigger push later in the month, and summer steelhead fishing is winding down ahead of the winter run. With the moon in its Last Quarter, expect steadier, less extreme tide swings on tidal river reaches this week.
Fall transition puts drop shot rigs to work on Potomac bass
Virginia's DWR Wildlife Blog highlighted drop shot tactics this week, a rig built for smallmouth, largemouth, and spotted bass that suspends bait just off bottom for a natural presentation — a solid starting point for Potomac and Shenandoah anglers as summer patterns give way to fall. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this stretch today, so treat water temp and flow as unknowns until you check locally. Nationally, bass are starting to move onto baitfish as summer fades into fall (per Tactical Bassin), with reaction baits and moving presentations gaining traction over slower summer approaches — a pattern that typically shows up on Potomac and Shenandoah water around the same calendar window. Catfish stay a dependable back-pocket option through early September on both systems. With a Last Quarter moon overhead, expect steadier, more spread-out feeding windows rather than one dramatic spike.
Truckee-basin trout settle into thin, clear late-summer flows
USGS gauge 10311000 is reading a skeletal 8.2 cfs as of this afternoon, the kind of low, clear late-summer stage that pushes trout into cover and makes stealthy approaches matter more than fly or lure choice. We didn't get any direct Truckee or Tahoe-specific angler reports in this cycle's intel sweep, so the read here leans on typical early-September Sierra patterns rather than fresh local testimony: rainbows and browns tend to feed hardest in the low-light hours while water is coolest, Tahoe's Mackinaw fishery holds steady on deep structure regardless of surface conditions, and kokanee begin staging for their fall spawning push through the month. Anglers working skinny water should expect spooky fish and long, careful presentations rather than an aggressive bite. With no wave, tide, or fresh temperature data in hand, treat today's numbers as a low-flow baseline and plan around dawn and dusk windows until a warmer or wetter signal shows up in the next read.
Low water tests Catawba & Roanoke anglers as fall bass patterns build
USGS gauge 02142900 logged flow at just 0.89 cfs this afternoon (2026-09-02), a low-water reading that points to clear, slow-moving conditions typical of late-summer drawdown on Catawba and Roanoke system tributaries. No charter, shop, or state-agency reports specific to these NC waters came through this cycle, so we're leaning on seasonal norms rather than fresh local intel — worth noting rather than guessing at a bite that wasn't reported. Nationally, outlets like Tactical Bassin and Fishing the Midwest are flagging the early fall transition, with bass keying on baitfish migrations and reaction baits (bladed swim jigs, buzzbaits, topwater) as water starts to cool. Low, clear flow on the Catawba and Roanoke typically pushes largemouth and catfish activity into low-light hours through early September. Anglers should watch for the first real cooldown to trigger a more aggressive shallow bite. Hurricane season is also active — NC Sea Grant's latest storm-readiness guidance is worth a read before any extended trip.
Low, Weedy Ponds Keep Central MA Bass on the Bite
Central Massachusetts gauges are running lean this week — our readings show flows near 6.6 and 31 cfs, matching the low, weedy conditions Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford describes across area ponds, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater. Largemouth bass are still cooperating: Jerry reports decent action at North Pond (Lake Maspenock) in Hopkinton and Lake Winthrop in Holliston, with topwater lures moving well as vegetation crowds the shallows. Further west, Sauder's Boat Livery in Southwick called bass at the Congamond lakes "on fire," with a recent big-bass event producing largemouth up to 4 pounds, 9 ounces. Fishing pressure is easing regionally as kids head back to school and vacation time runs out, per Jerry's report — good news for anglers with weekday access. Expect largemouth to keep favoring topwater and weed-edge presentations through the low, clear water typical of early September. Panfish and smallmouth should stay catchable on quieter days, though local intel on those species is thin this week.
Upper Penobscot flows hold steady as fall bite window opens
The Piscataquis gauge (USGS 01030500), part of the upper Penobscot watershed, logged 43.5 cfs as of early Tuesday afternoon — a manageable, wadeable flow heading into the first full week of September. No direct reports came in from Moosehead Lake or the upper Penobscot corridor this cycle, so we're leaning on seasonal norms rather than fresh testimony: this stretch of Maine typically holds landlocked salmon and lake trout (togue) working through the water column as surface temperatures ease, with brook trout and smallmouth bass still catchable in the cooler tributaries and coves. Elsewhere in New England, per The Fisherman's freshwater desk, thin water on rivers like the Merrimack is already pushing anglers toward smaller, more technical presentations — a pattern worth watching if the Piscataquis keeps trending down. Moon sits at Last Quarter, which generally favors low-light bite windows around dawn and dusk over the coming days.
Fall Transition Turns On Kennebec-Penobscot Bass and Salmon
Our regional flow gauge (USGS 01046500) logged 1,470 cfs as of early Tuesday afternoon, a solid early-September read with no paired temperature reading available this cycle. Direct reports from the Kennebec and Penobscot corridor are thin this week, but the same late-summer-to-fall shift showing up across New England freshwater systems is worth planning around. The Fisherman's New England Freshwater desk describes anglers elsewhere in the region working low, weedy water with topwater as bass push shallow before the transition deepens, while Tactical Bassin's September notes emphasize fish keying on baitfish and moving with schools rather than holding tight to structure. Fishing the Midwest's bladed swim jig pattern is a solid multi-species call worth carrying here too, since it covers bass, pike, and, regionally, landlocked salmon water. With school back in session and boat traffic thinning, this is a good week to scout quietly before the real fall bite compresses into a shorter window.
Cooling rivers lift restrictions, hopper bite holds strong in Yellowstone country
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks lifted hoot-owl restrictions on the Smith and Sun Rivers Aug. 29, and afternoon closures came off several western and southwest Montana streams — including the upper Clark Fork, lower Bitterroot, and Silver Bow — as stream temperatures cooled through late August, per MT FWP Fishing News. Some Big Hole River sections went the other direction, closing as flows dropped. Our reading at USGS gauge 06043500 puts flow at 413 cfs, a moderate late-summer stage. Hatch Magazine's Yellowstone terrestrial countdown notes it's been a long, hot, smoky summer across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, with hopper season now in its prime window before the fall shutoff. Expect rainbows, browns, and Yellowstone cutthroat still keying on grasshoppers and ants blown onto the water, with whitefish activity typically picking up later as temperatures keep dropping.
Lake Trout and Walleye Stay Steady Off Duluth's North Shore
Surface water temps near Duluth held around 60–65°F with cooler water toward Two Harbors, per the MN DNR Lake Superior Summer Fishing Report's August 27 update, and anglers there kept a steady bite going on 18-33 inch Lake Trout and 17-23 inch Walleye trolling spoons close to shore. Inland, our two monitored river gauges read a moderate 4,980 cfs and 1,940 cfs, flows that stay fishable but aren't blown out heading into early September. Fishing the Midwest still likes a bladed swim jig with a plastic trailer as a reliable multi-species pick for bass, pike, and walleye on area lakes as shoreline weeds begin to thin. With the moon in its Last Quarter phase and the fall baitfish shift underway, smallmouth and pike should increasingly key on remaining green weed edges. Check state regulations before harvesting any clipped or otherwise protected fish.
Erie smallmouth shift gears as summer turns to fall
Gauge readings show 72°F water and a steady 517 cfs flow as of the morning of September 2 — warm enough that Lake Erie and Niagara-area smallmouth are still holding a late-summer pattern, with the fall transition close but not yet triggered. Elsewhere in New York's smallmouth world, Wired 2 Fish reported the biggest all-smallmouth bag in Bassmaster history came off the St. Lawrence River this week (109 lbs, 9 oz) — a sign the state's smallmouth fisheries are peaking right now, even though that catch came from a different system than Erie. On The Water's fall-transition playbook flags moving baitfish and cooling water as the trigger anglers should watch for on smallmouth and walleye alike, while Fishing the Midwest notes more anglers leaning on forward-facing sonar to locate suspended baitfish for walleye. No direct on-the-water reports from Erie or the Niagara River came through this cycle, so treat species status below as seasonal expectation rather than a confirmed bite.
Kings Stack Up in Deep Water as Lake Ontario Salmon Run Builds
Salmon fishing has been very good over the past week, per Strike Zone Charters (Lake Ontario), with browns and lake trout mixed in alongside Chinook holding in 100 to 160 feet of water. Preferred depths have been shifting day to day as wind moves the thermocline, and the charter reports Mag Dipsey Divers working best when fish sit deep, with green, white, and chartreuse e-chip spoons paired with Atomic attractant drawing strikes. On the tributary side, USGS gauge 04250750 is reading a steady, low 174 cfs, a typical early-September stage before fall rains push flow up and pull staging salmon into the rivers. With the moon in its Last Quarter phase, low-light bites should stay productive around dawn and dusk. Lake trout and browns are riding along with the salmon push rather than driving it on their own this week.
Rio Grande runs low as San Juan trout lean on terrestrials
The Rio Grande gauge (USGS 08330000) read 0 cfs at 11:15 a.m. on September 2, with no water-temperature reading coming through — consistent with the late-summer irrigation drawdown that regularly pinches flow on stretches of the river this time of year. No shop, charter, or agency reports came in specifically from the Rio Grande or San Juan this cycle, so we're leaning on regional and seasonal context rather than fresh local intel. Elsewhere in trout country, Hatch Magazine's ongoing terrestrial-season tracking and Caddis Fly (OR)'s note on a jigged sunken-ant pattern both point to the same late-summer pattern: hoppers and ants are carrying trout as aquatic hatches thin out, and that typically holds for New Mexico's freshwater trout water too. Expect technical, low-and-clear conditions on exposed Rio Grande reaches, with the San Juan generally holding steadier flow and fishing through late summer.
Delta Bass Shift Into Fall Feeding Mode As Flows Hold Steady
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is holding a steady late-summer stage, with the USGS gauge at station 11455420 reading 479 cfs as of Wednesday morning — no dramatic flow shift to report, which usually means fish haven't been pushed off their established early-fall spots. Water temperature wasn't available from this reading, but early September is typically when Delta largemouth bass start keying on baitfish as the fall transition sets in; per this month's broader coverage from Tactical Bassin, bass around the country are moving off deep summer holds toward reaction baits and topwater as shad schools tighten up, a pattern that generally plays out in the Delta's sloughs and tule lines as well. Striped bass, catfish, and sturgeon don't have direct Delta-specific intel in today's feeds — NorCal Fish Reports tracks this system closely among its regional coverage and is worth checking for hyper-local bite details as the week develops. The Last Quarter moon favors early and late light feeding windows over the next few days.
Champlain smallmouth stay locked in as the fall transition begins
Lake Champlain water is holding at 72°F per the regional USGS gauge (04294500), still warm enough to keep smallmouth bass feeding aggressively as Labor Day wraps up the summer pattern. No direct on-the-water reports from Champlain itself crossed our feeds this week, but national bass coverage is unanimous that the fall transition is underway — On The Water's rundown of fall-transition baits and Tactical Bassin's September guidance both flag baitfish starting to move, with bass following them off summer structure into open water and along emerging weed edges. That mirrors what Champlain smallmouth typically do this time of year: roam shorelines and drop-offs chasing shad rather than holding tight. Landlocked salmon are the bigger question mark — with surface temps still near 72°F, they're likely staged deep on the thermocline rather than up shallow, a pattern that should ease as nights cool through September and surface temps drop toward salmon's preferred range.
Yellowstone terrestrials hold as fall mousing window nears
Water temperatures on the region's gauge read a comfortable 59°F this morning, with flow holding steady near 2,050 cfs (USGS gauge 06192500) — solid numbers for active trout through the day. Hatch Magazine's Yellowstone terrestrial countdown notes anglers across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have been counting the days since early August, working through what's been a long, hot, smoky summer, with hopper and ant patterns still doing work on cutthroat and rainbows in the mid-day window. Flylords Mag flags mouse-fly season creeping in for brown trout as September nights start to cool, a pattern worth watching on any deeper, slower runs in the Snake and Yellowstone drainages. Gink and Gasoline's notes on presenting to educated, pressured trout are worth keeping in mind on water that's seen a full summer of pressure. Whitefish remain a steady, if unglamorous, bycatch this time of year.
Smallmouth begin fall baitfish chase on the New River & Ohio
USGS gauge 03051000 is reading a steady 129 cfs as of midday today, a stable, wadeable flow for early September on WV's New River and Ohio River systems — no water-temp reading came through this cycle, so plan around air temps and time on the water. No New River- or Ohio-specific fishing reports came in from our tracked sources this week, so we're leaning on regional seasonal patterns and the broader fall-transition signal anglers elsewhere are already seeing. Per Tactical Bassin, smallmouth and largemouth bass are shifting off summer haunts and keying on baitfish schools as water begins to cool, a pattern that typically reaches WV rivers through September. Fishing the Midwest notes a bladed swim jig is producing on bass, pike, and walleye alike as fish key on baitfish — worth trying on the New River. In lighter news, Wired 2 Fish reports a new WV catch-and-release pumpkinseed record out of Cheat Lake, a reminder panfish are active statewide.
Guntersville and Wheeler bass shift into fall feeding mode
USGS gauge 03575100 logged flow near 151 cfs this morning, a stable, low-water read typical of the Tennessee River system that feeds Lake Guntersville and Wheeler this time of year. Bass across the region are moving out of the deep summer pattern, per Tactical Bassin, which reports fish keying on baitfish near open water and increasingly willing to eat topwater, crankbaits, and swimbaits around schooling activity — "the bite can be downright hot" when anglers find the right group of fish. A recent Tactical Bassin outing on the Tennessee River documented largemouth pushed onto grass edges, taking flipping baits, topwater, and reaction baits as conditions shifted through the day. On The Water's fall-transition primer echoes the same seasonal cue, pointing anglers toward baits suited for cooling water and baitfish migrations. Today's gauge reading didn't carry a water temperature, so treat the fall push as directional rather than confirmed cold-front trigger just yet.
Early Fall Chinook Chatter Builds on the Columbia System
USGS gauge 14211720 has the system running warm at 71°F on about 5,200 cfs as of this morning, flows that push salmon and trout activity into the cooler dawn and dusk windows rather than midday. Anglers on IFish.net Fishing Reports are buzzing about the lower Columbia this week — one post out of the Buoy 10 area described "HOT chinook action trolling solo," but that's a single forum report with no shop, charter, or agency confirming it yet, so we're treating it as early word rather than a sure thing. Elsewhere on the forum, boaters are still finding and losing gear near the river mouth and up around the Lewis and Nehalem, a sign of steady traffic working the tide-influenced water. With flows holding warm for early September, smallmouth bass should stay the more consistent daytime target on the Rogue side, while salmon and trout activity concentrates in the low-light hours until temperatures ease.
Hopper Bite Holds as Late-Summer Flows Linger Into September
Our flow gauge (USGS 12372000) read 69°F and 5,630 cfs as of Wednesday morning — a warm, high mark for early September that points to a slower-than-usual transition toward fall conditions on Flathead Lake and Bitterroot water. No local shop or captain reports came through this cycle to confirm what's actually biting, so treat species notes below as seasonal expectation rather than confirmed intel. Regionally, the pattern anglers are chasing right now is terrestrials: Hatch Magazine's coverage of the nearby Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem describes an active "terrestrial countdown," with hoppers, ants, and beetles still pulling strikes as late-summer heat holds on. That's the same window Flathead and Bitterroot trout typically key into before flows drop and water cools into true fall patterns. With water still running warm, expect trout to concentrate feeding into the cooler early-morning and evening hours, and handle fish gently if you're targeting them midday.